Quote of the Day

QUOTE OF THE DAY…. Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) recently touched on right-wing demands that the Affordable Care Act be repealed in its entirety. “The fact is that’s not going to happen, OK?” Corker said.

He later sought to clarify, telling The Weekly Standard that repeal isn’t possible as long as President Obama is in the White House, though he also hedged on whether he’d commit to supporting repeal in 2013.

Right-wing radio host Mark Levin blasted Corker for his disloyalty to the right-wing cause.

“Now I’ve talked about Lindsey Graham in the past, and I’m not talking about him right now. We already know he’s a loser. We already know he can’t be counted on. We already know he thinks this is a big game.

But there’s a so-called moderate Republican from Tennessee who bought his seat and defeated two conservatives in the primary…. and his name is Bob Corker.

…. the guy’s already surrendered…. I can see this guy, Corker, you know, at the constitutional convention. Better yet, I can see him when they’re debating the Declaration of Independence.

[imitating] ‘But we’re not going to be able to get rid of the British, and we just gotta work with them. We gotta address those issues that we can fix…. we can’t get rid of them. That’s not just going to happen, okay’?”

As a substantive matter, Levin’s mockery is pretty foolish. No serious person could find it credible to compare the Affordable Care Act to British rule over the American colonies.

But note what constitutes a “moderate” in right-wing circles these days. The always-helpful VoteView analysis ranks lawmakers from the most liberal to the most conservative. In the current Congress, #1 is Bernie Sanders (furthest to the left), #100 is Tom Coburn (furthest to the right). Bob Corker ranks #88 — meaning only 12 senators are to his right. This year, based solely on his voting record, Corker is to the right of notable conservatives like John Thune, David Vitter, Sam Brownback Mitch McConnell, and Orrin Hatch.

Bob Corker is not only to the right of most senators, he’s to the right of most Republican senators.

But for some contingents of the far-right base, Corker’s a moderate who isn’t to be trusted? It’s a reminder of just how far gone some of the GOP base really is.